Cinderella
by chocolate splash
Summary: Cinderella's story told without a magical fairy godmother and with a smarter Cinderella.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, everybody...**

 **Suddenly I got the mood to watch the episodes of Cinderella. I love that series; how the prince and she become friends and develop feelings for each other long before the ball. Then I got to thinking how the story would be if it was more T-rated and had no fairy godmother giving magical help. I envisioned many flashes of scenes and decided to try to write them out.**

 **The plot will be similar to the episodes, only without the magical god-fairy and talking animal friends. I thought of the dog and decided to include him in between the story. Also, I escalated the feelings that people have towards her. Other than that, there will be some new scenes and modified action scenes. Though it will be enjoyable to watch the series as well, there is no need for that to read this story. I will introduce the characters anew.**

 **If you like it, please review or PM and tell me. I would feel very happy.**

 **Disclaimer: I own none of the characters of the story and have copied majority of the plot from the episodes of Cinderella.**

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Once upon a time in a prosperous kingdom, King Edward and Queen Salina ruled. They were very kind rulers and were loved by their people. They had one son, Prince Charles. They were proud of how their prince was turning out; handsome, smart, skilled and kind. He was always eager to learn and excelled in all those subjects he learned. As usual, in those times, the royalty usually did not come down to the town unless for a grand occasion, so the subjects did not get many chances to see the prince closely. But they loved him for his qualities that were passed down through gossip. All in all, the King and Queen were happy with the atmosphere. They only had one wish remaining. They wished that their 18 year old prince would marry soon and take up his duties as the King. They had their son late in their marriage and were old enough now to wish to give up their duties. All they wanted now was peace and some grandchildren.

Price Charles was very dedicated to his duties. He loved his kingdom and was determined to care for it like his parents. So he studied hard and learned well. He was taught many arts that a prince should be aware of, like painting, fencing, literature, politics, archery, horse-riding, and many more. Though he was sufficiently skilled in all of them, his favorite was fencing. He was very much loved by the people who worked in the castle, be it maids or soldiers. His closest friend and confident was his Page, Alex. He grew up along with him, and they liked and trusted each other very much. Prince Charles had one habit which was only known to Alex. He would go into the town in disguise every now and then. He insisted that he would know of the troubles of his people and any other news only when he would be among them. Alex was always wheedled into assisting him in his outings; be it as providing a cover, lending him clothes or pretending to be prince himself. Though Alex always acted as if he was against his outings, it was only in humor. He was actually very proud of his Prince. Of course, Prince Charles knew this.

Prince Charles knew of his parents' wishes too. But he was unwilling to marry someone just for the sake of it. Impressed by his kind mother, he wanted to marry someone who would be kind to her subjects, clever in her talks, and most of all, see him as a person she loved. He wanted a wife with whom he could share his thoughts, happiness and grief. He wanted a wife who would not hesitate to say her opinion to him, and who would not fawn over him unnecessarily. He knew that he would be pursued and flattered by many just for his title; he did not want his wife to be amongst them. He wanted someone whom he trusted and loved.

In the same Kingdom, lived Lord Richard. He was from a wealthy family who were flourished in their business. His marriage to Kristen was arranged by the parents. Though he was not that close to her, he was a faithful and dedicated husband. Soon, they had a girl, Cinderella. As Richard was away on business many times a year, sometimes for longer intervals, Cinderella grew up with her mother. Kristen loved Cinderella. She dedicated her life to her daughter. So, Cinderella grew up to be a kind, joyful, optimistic and a person easy to love. She was a cute kid who grew up to be a beautiful girl. She was also very inquisitive person. Since she could learn, she wanted to know many things, like how you cook, how you heal, how you read, how you dance, and so on. Their maid, an elder lady named Marietta, and Kristen, both were delighted to teach her so. Kristen knew about plants, herbs and natural healing, and she was favorable to Cinderella knowing them. Marietta was happy to have Cinderella in the kitchen or outside when she worked, for she provided a joyful company. Soon as she grew older, she let Cinderella help her in her tasks when the child wanted to, and was always playful with her.

Tragedy struck when Cinderella was 14. Kristen became very ill and was bed ridden. When the doctors inspected her, they said that she had a fatal disease and would not live for long. In those final days, Cinderella took great care of her mother. The last words of her mother would always be etched in her heart.

"Cinderella, my sweet daughter! Kindness and positive outlook are choices. Though they are not always easy, they are the best ones. They would never let you down. But that does not mean you turn into an innocent naive girl. You need to be smart to walk safely out of the challenges that life would definitely throw at you. Be happy, my darling, and always try to make the ones you like happy too."

Thus Cinderella lost her mother. Lord Richard remained distant with Cinderella after that, so the only one who would keep her company was Marietta. She loved going to town with her maid, and her sweet nature won the hearts of many who came across her. Soon she was a favorite in the market, and they felt their day brighten if Cinderella came to town.

In one of his outings, Lord Richard fell in love with Lady Diana. She was a widow with two daughters near the age as Cinderella. He married her and brought the three ladies along with him to his home. Cinderella had just turned 17 then. Lady Diana was an attractive and educated lady. But she was indifferent to those she considered to be of lower standard than her. She did love her second husband, but not his first daughter. Her own daughters, Catherine and Jeanne, were two lovely yet spoiled pair of sisters. While Jeanne was the same age as Cinderella, Catherin was an year older. She loved them dearly, and was determined that she would select the best matches for her daughters for marriage. When she arrived at Richard's town, she resolved to herself that she would marry one of her daughters to the Prince Charles.

Sadly, Cinderella was pushed aside. When Richard was present, she would at least get the chance to sit with them at their meals or in the living room. But in his absence, she was told to stay away. She was not even talked to unless Diana or the girls wanted something from her. When they discovered that she was good at stuff like sewing and cooking, she was assigned those tasks whenever possible. Marietta used to help and care for Cinderella, but unfortunately, she fell sick and was fired from the job. Diana cajoled her husband into believing that she was capable of doing the household jobs herself and that they do not need any servants in the house. But whenever the stepmother thought the father wasn't noticing, the household jobs like cooking, sewing and laundry were assigned to Cinderella. We would never know whether Richard noticed his first daughter's slavery or not, but he never once questioned if he did.

Cinderella soon set up a routine for herself. She would wake up early in the morning as per the order of her stepmother prepare the breakfast. After her father had left for the day, she would do the laundry and lunch, and then go into the town in any shopping was required. Preparation of supper on time was her responsibility too, and so was the cleaning of the dishes after every meal. Richard left early after breakfast for his business and arrived home for supper, so the stepmother had a free reign of the house for most of the day. She pampered her daughters and ordered her stepdaughter around.

Our story starts here when Lord Richard was leaving on his first long trip after his second marriage.

"This will be a long trip dear Diana. I will try to finish my work as fast as I can, but it would definitely take months before they will be completed. I hope you will be able to take care of yourself and our daughters till then."

"Oh Richard, of course I will take care of my daughters. You be safe and come back home profitably. Take care of your health and write whenever you can."

"Of course darling." He kissed his wife sweetly. Then he turned to his three daughters.

"Be safe and take care of yourselves, my daughters. I would like to return to three dignified daughters of my house. You know that you three are now of age right for marriage, and I want to find the best matches for you. That is, if your mother hasn't already found them for you before I return." He joked at the end, making Catherine and Jeanne giggle. Cinderella smiled sadly, for all the while he was speaking, only once did he look at her. His attention was on his step-daughters. She consoled herself that he at least included her in his farewell; that he did not forget her. He bid farewell soon and his carriage left for the docks.

Her life changed the very same day. She was openly ordered to prepare supper and then made to wait for the step family to finish their meal before she could have hers. After all the cleaning up, she returned to her room only to find all her things lying outside the door. Catherin and Jeanne were standing by her things, giggling.

"You know, we had a big wardrobe in our previous house to store all our gowns and accessories." Catherin said in a sing-song haughty voice, which Jeanne copied next.

"Yes, about the size of your room. We were very disappointed to not find one here."

"So we are converting your room into one, Cinderella."

Cinderella was confused, "But where will I sleep then?"

The answer came from behind her, from her stepmother, "The kitchen would always have place there, but I am being kind and giving you the whole attic to yourself. Move your things upstairs tonight and you will sleep there from now on. Hurry up now, you have a lot to work in the morning."

"But…" Cinderella tried to protest, for which she received a hard glared from Diana.

"DO NOT speak back to me, Cinderella. Understand that until your father returns, I am the mistress of this house. I could very well remove you from this house without a penny. Where would that leave you?"

"You cannot do that…."

"Oh believe me I can. It would be very easy to convince your father and the people that you stole a family heirloom from me, or even trick you into mistake against the throne. Then throwing you out will be easy. Now, don't waste my time. Get moving. The girls and I are going to the town for buying new dresses, so make sure that the breakfast is served right on time. The rest of your works, you will spread out through the day. Understood?"

Cinderella bowed her head to hide her tears, "yes madam."

When she first entered the attic, it was dusty and full of cobwebs, but she fell in love with the room. It was a private and isolated, had a gentle breeze flowing throughout the day, and the view from the window showed a vast expanse of woods with the castle standing far away. It was beautiful view indeed. It took a couple of days, but the attic was dust free soon and Cinderella felt her room as a refuge as well as a sanctuary.

Going to the town became her favorite activity. She was always eager to go there, for she could meet people who smiled at her and were kind to her. Whenever she would have some spare time, she would spend it either in her room reading the books her mother left her (the step family wanted nothing to do with them, so they gave it to her) or in the woods next to the house. She worked diligently and enjoyed her time alone. When possible, she would assist the people in the market with odd jobs. The townsfolk were always happy to have her with them, and would spare her coins or treats whenever she helped them.

Cinderella's outfit soon changed to work clothes at home and a simple cotton gown when visiting the town. This was because the stepmother refused to give her any money for repairs of torn clothes or for buying new ones. Even after all these, Cinderella never let a frown on her face or sadness in her heart. She stuck to her mother's last words and held hope that this was just a challenge life has thrown at her; that if she stayed positive and strong, she will have a happy life.


	2. Chapter 2

The Kingdom which King Edward ruled, though small, was a well protected and a very beautiful one. The 'Emerald' castle was situated at an uphill and it had woods all around it. A wide path amidst the forest shadowed by trees led down to the main market of the town. It had a wide open area, called Town Square, in the middle with shops situated around it and in lanes from it. A big marble fountain was situated in the middle of the Town Square. It was the centre of the town, and as we move farther from it, we could see lesser shops and more residences. The farthest houses were all big ones and all belonged to wealthy Lords and Dukes. All this setting was amidst a big forest which had a river flowing through it near the town. The river too had a small waterfall. All in all, it was naturally well protected as well as very beautiful and rich.

Cinderella's house was one on the outskirts of the town. To reach the town, the best way was to take a carriage through a bridge on the river. It would take only a few minutes to reach the main market. On foot it would take some half an hour. The Town Square was always a busy place, for there were merchants coming in with fresh merchandise all through the year. Also, the Kingdom celebrated many small and big festivals and competitions, and the Town Square was the main attraction during those times.

"Cinderella! Cinderella!" Diana shouted towards the kitchen, "Why is breakfast taking so long to prepare?"

Cinderella rushed through the doors, "It is ready."

"What took you so long, Cinderella? Don't you see that we are in a hurry to reach the Town Square?" Catherin said haughtily as she took a bite of her bread.

"I am sorry." Cinderella replied politely, "If you don't mind me asking, why are you so eager to go to the Town today?"

"You have no fashion sense if you did not notice my beautiful gown I am wearing. Today there is the Flower Queen contest in the Town Square. I wonder who is going to be the princess of the Flower festival today." Jeanne finished dreamily.

"You very well know who is going to be it." Boasted Catherin. Jeanne put her hands on her cheeks.

"I know but I can still hardly believe it." Catherin looked at her in surprise. Jeanne continued, "Perhaps I should prepare an acceptance speech."

"Why would you prepare an acceptance speech for me?" Catherin asked her.

"But you just said you know who would win. Didn't you mean me?"

"Of course not, I am going to be the winner obviously."

Jeanne huffed. Diana spoke to stop their silly banter, "Stop arguing ladies! Each of you is as beautiful as the other, but only person can win. The important thing is that one of you must win that crown today. But you needn't worry; any of you can win that contest even with bags over your heads. But we need to hurry there. Both of you need to be seen around in the Town as much as possible." All three of them laughed.

Jeanne whined, "Why Mama, the contest isn't for another hour anyway?"

Before Diana could reply, Cinderella asked in a soft voice, "May I come to the flower contest too? Just to watch, not participate."

Diana looked at her scornfully and first replied to her daughters, "There is news that the Prince would come to the Town Square in disguise, to look around for potential future queens. I want you both to be on your best behaviors and always in view to everyone. Understood?"

"Mmm hmmm" Both girls nodded. Diana then turned to Cinderella, "And you! We will be tired by the time we are back; so I want the house cleaned, the clothes washed and ironed, food cooked and you ready to serve when we return. If you still find time in between, you may visit the town. But don't let me see you there."

Cinderella knew that the chores list was too long, but she resolved to try to do them fast and go to the town. She bowed to her step mother, "Yes Madam! Have a nice day."

The step family left gracefully with their noses in the air, and Cinderella remained by the door with her head bowed till they left. She immediately started on her tasks, doing them all together in synchrony so as to save time. For example, she put the water to boil, and go sweep and mop a room. Then she would hurry to soak clothes and come back to dice the vegetables and prepare the flour. Then she went to clean other rooms while the soup was boiling. When she knew the soup was prepared, she came down to put the bread in the oven and went to wash the clothes. And so on… Soon, all her tasks were completed and she still had two hours free. She patted herself as she locked the door and raced down the path to the town. She was finally going to the festival.

The town was decorated beautifully, and was busy with shoppers and visitors. The people were with friends and families and were having their jolly time. The contest for the flower queen had already started, so Cinderella was sure that her step family would be there. So she avoided that area. But still, there were many other things to see. She greeted the shop keepers she knew already, bought herself a bread to eat with her meager savings and roamed around the streets. The shop keepers who knew greeted her happily. The old shopkeeper who sold flowers even gave her a bunch of flowers.

"Oh! Thank you so much Mr. Salind, but I cannot take it. I do not have money for those."

"Do not fret dear Cinderella. I am not selling these. They are gift, and you should never reject a gift now, should you?"

Cinderella blushed and kissed his cheek, "Thank you. You are too kind!"

"Well, seeing you around today only brightened my day. Have a nice day, my dear."

Cinderella was near the Town Square when she heard the winner for the contest being announced. It was neither Jean nor Catherin. Cinderella panicked. She had lost track of time roaming around. She immediately started running back to the house, for she knew that her step mother and step sisters would be in a very bad mood when they returned and not finding Cinderella home would only fuel their ire. While running, she looked back to the grand clock to see how much time she had. She did not see the person in front of him and collided hard into him. Both of them fell to the ground and the apple that the young man was eating slipped from his hand.

"Oh I am so sorry. I am in a hurry. Please excuse me." She bowed to him and started to leave. He caught her wrist to stop her.

"Wait!"

Cinderella snatched her hand, "I said I am sorry, I really have to leave. Please!" And she started running away. Just as she was out of town she realized that the young man from earlier was running after her; and gaining on her too. But she had no time to waste and paid no heed to his cries for her to stop.

After a while she felt a hand on her shoulder, abruptly stopping her run and making her fall on her knees on the ground. The man knelt down on his knees beside her. Both were panting.

"Why are you following me? I said I was sorry, didn't I? I did not see you in my way." Cinderella panted.

The man, well he looked just a bit older than her when she saw him properly, smiled at her, "I know miss. I am not blaming you for anything. You just dropped something when you collided with me."

Cinderella noticed that he was holding the flowers that the shopkeeper had given her.

"Don't ask me to believe that you ran all this way just to give me my flowers?" Cinderella asked as she stood up.

"These flowers are beautiful and look very good on you. But no, you dropped this along with the flowers." He extended his other hand, and Cinderella gasped when she saw the house key in his palm. She immediately checked her pockets and confirmed that she indeed had lost her keys.

"Oh thank you so much. I am sorry I made you run. I am so embarrassed. Why didn't you say so while you were following me? I would have stopped immediately." She bashfully took the key.

"You are a fast runner; I had no breath left to shout while chasing you. And you seemed in no mood to listen to me anyway." He said in joke. But that statement made Cinderella remember why she was hurrying. She gasped, "Oh right! I need to go back. I am sorry again."

And she raced away towards the house. She heard him shout from behind, "Wait! At least tell me your name?"

"No time! May be in our next meet. Bye!" And she ran away. The boy was left standing near the bridge with the flowers still in his hands.

 _She is a beautiful girl. I wonder why she is in such a hurry._ He thought. As he walked back, he also wondered if he would get to meet her again.

When Cinderella reached home, she was pleased to see it still locked. So her step-family was not back yet. _Well, good for me!._ She thought. She went inside to light up the rooms and then sat in the kitchen with a book. But her mind kept drifting to the young man whom she had led into a wild goose chase. She was thankful to him, both for returning her key and also for not being cross with her. She reflected on how polite and charming he was with her, and also how handsome he was.

Another hour passed before Diana, Catherin and Jeanne returned home. Their loud bickering was enough to alert Cinderella and she rushed to serve them refreshments and help them with their coats.

"Such a disaster really! She was not even good looking." Catherin said in a snide. Jeanne followed.

"Yes mother. Did you see how old fashioned her dress was. It was no way in match to mine. Oh tell me mother! Why did I not get the crown today?"

Diana sighed, "I do not know dear. I think the judges were partial, but then again, what more could you expect? We are after all new to this town in comparison."

"Oooohhhh! I get it now mother." Catherin nodded to herself, "At least the prince must have had a good look at me."

"And how do you know that, dear sister? For all I know, I spotted at least five boys looking at me in admiration. Maybe one of them was the prince himself." Jeanne dreamed to herself. Cinderella, who was serving them their dinner now, smiled to herself as she heard their complaints and wonders. Even though her step-family did not have a successful day, she was happy that her day was spent wonderful.


End file.
